Атлант расправил плечи
The Face without Pain or Fear or Guilt
"
"Ibegyourpardon,"hesaid,hisvoicebarelyaudible,"Ididn’thearwhatyousaid."
"IsaidIwantareportfromallsuperintendentsoneveryfootofrailandeverypieceofequipmentavailableontheirdivisions."
"Okay."
"Iwillconferwitheachoneoftheminturn.HavethemmeetmeinmycaraboardtheComet."
"Okay."
"Sendwordout—unofficially—thattheengineersaretomakeuptimeforthestopsbygoingseventy,eighty,ahundredmilesanhour,anythingtheywishasandwhentheyneedto,andthatIwill...
Eddie?"
"Yes.Okay."
"Eddie,what’sthematter?"
Hehadtolookup,tofaceherand,desperately,tolieforthefirsttimeinhislife."I’m...I’mafraidofthetroublewe’llgetintowiththelaw,"hesaid.
"Forgetit.Don’tyouseethatthereisn’tanylawleft?Anythinggoesnow,forwhoevercangetawaywithit—and,forthemoment,it’swewho’resettingtheterms."
Whenshewasready,hecarriedhersuitcasetoataxicab,thendowntheplatformoftheTaggartTerminaltoherofficecar,thelastattheendoftheComet.Hestoodontheplatform,sawthetrainjerkforwardandwatchedtheredmarkersonthebackofhercarslippingslowlyawayfromhimintothelongdarknessoftheexittunnel.
